Rate My Professor Thomas Sollecito

Thomas P. Sollecito, DMD, FDS, RCSEd, serves as Chair and Professor of Oral Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania School of Dental Medicine, where he also holds the position of Associate Dean for Hospital and Extramural Affairs. He is an Attending in Oral Medicine at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania and a Clinical Associate at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. Previously, he acted as Interim Dean of the School of Dental Medicine from July 2008 through June 2009 and as Associate Dean for Academic Affairs from February 2005 through June 2008. He formerly directed the Oral Medicine Residency Program. Sollecito earned his BS in Biology cum laude from Villanova University, DMD from the University of Pennsylvania in 1989, completed a General Practice Residency at the University of Pennsylvania Medical Center in 1990, and finished his training in Oral Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania in 1991. An educator for over 25 years, he joined the Penn Dental Medicine faculty following his residency and has led the Department of Oral Medicine since 2009.

Sollecito's research interests encompass facial pain, mucosal disease, and treatment of medically complex dental patients, with grants supporting work on oral mucosal diseases and oral cancer. He has authored numerous papers and chapters on these topics, including contributions to Dental Clinics of North America on clinical approaches to oral mucosal disorders (2013, 2014), updates on antibiotic prophylaxis (2013), and articles in CMAJ on temporomandibular disorders and oral lichen planus (2012). He serves as a reviewer for Oral Surgery, Oral Medicine, Oral Pathology, Oral Radiology, and Endodontology, and the Journal of the American Dental Association. His awards include the Lindback Award for Distinguished Teaching, Thomas Evans Achievement Award (2014), Pennsylvania Dental Association Recognition Award (2018) for contributions to clinical care, research, and teaching in oral mucosal diseases, head and neck tumors, TMD, and HIV dental treatment, Golden Pen Division 1 Dental Journalism Award (2014), and Samuel Charles Miller Award from the American Academy of Oral Medicine. Leadership roles feature presidency of the American Board of Oral Medicine (2021) and American Academy of Oral Medicine (2010), fellowship in the Royal College of Surgeons (Edinburgh, 2011), diplomate status in Oral Medicine and Special Care Dentistry, and service on the ADA Council on Scientific Affairs. The Thomas P. Sollecito One Health Fellowship honors his work bridging human and veterinary oral medicine.